More journalists killed in first nine months of 2018 than in all of 2017

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Kolkata, India, 2 May 2018. An Indian photojournalist lights a candle during a vigil for ten Afghan journalists who were killed in an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan

Sonali Pal Chaudhury/NurPhoto via Getty Images

This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 11 October 2018.

More professional journalists were killed worldwide in connection with their work in the first nine months of 2018 than in all of 2017, according to the tally kept by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). This year's total already stood at 56 on 1 October, as against 55 for all of last year. Just over half were killed in war zones.

Worldwide, 2017 was the least deadly year for media personnel in 14 years but this is far from being the case for 2018. In addition to the 56 journalists whose deaths were clearly linked to their work, RSF is in the process of investigating more than 10 other cases.

"As we prepare to unveil the 2018 memorial stone at the memorial park for slain journalists in Bayeux, in northern France, we must pay tribute to all these men and women who have been killed while reporting in war zones," RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. "The alarming number of deaths is a reminder of the urgent need to provide journalists with more protection. RSF is calling for the creation of a Special Representative of the United Nations secretary-general. Our initiative is backed by a growing number of governments, and by 130 media outlets, organizations and journalists' unions around the world."

Afghanistan is currently the world's deadliest country for journalists, with 13 killed so far this year, ten of them on a single day, 30 April. Nine, including AFP photographer Sha Marai Fezi, were killed in a double-bombing in Kabul regarded as the deadliest attack on the media since the Taliban government fell in 2001. The tenth victim, BBC reporter Ahmad Shah, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in eastern Khost province a few hours later.

In all, 29 journalists (52% of the total) have been killed in war zones since the start of the year. After Afghanistan, Yemen has been the deadliest country, with five killed. When not being killed in air strikes, journalists die as a result of mistreatment in prison in this Middle Eastern country, which is ranked 167th out of 180 in the World Press Freedom Index.

This was the case with Anwar al Rakan, a Yemeni journalist who was held by the Houthis for nearly a year. He died on 2 June just days after being released in an already terminal condition. His family said he was ravaged by starvation, torture and disease when released. Photos of his emaciated body circulated on social networks. The Houthis continue to detain at least ten journalists and one citizen-journalist. But they could be holding many more because they provide no information.

In Africa, two journalists have been killed in Somalia. One, Abdirisag Qasim Iman, was fatally shot at a police checkpoint in July. The other, Abdirizak Said Osman, was stabbed to death as he left his radio station in September. In the Central African Republic, a great deal of mystery still surrounds the deaths of three Russian journalists - Orkhan Dzhemal, Kirill Radchenko and Alexander Rastorguyev - who were slain by unidentified gunmen in July while investigating the presence of mercenaries working for Wagner, a Russian private military company that also operates in Syria. Their fixer, known as "Martin," has yet to be identified and has mysteriously disappeared. The Russian and CAR authorities who are investigating this triple murder have to provide any information that would help to identify those responsible.

A total of six professional journalists have been killed since the start of the year in Pakistan, Palestine and Syria - two in each country. In Syria's case, this is less than last year, when nine professional journalists were killed in connection with the war. But the dangers continue to grow for Syrian citizen-journalists covering the conflict. Six citizen-journalists and one media worker were killed in Syria during the first nine months of 2018.

Pakistan is among the countries that do not properly investigate and prosecute crimes against media professionals. Because of the near absolute level of impunity, most of the people who attack, injure or even murder media journalists in Pakistan remain free.

The report is based on incidents of crimes committed against journalists recorded by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) during the period 2012 to 2016. Most of the incidents of crimes against journalists, particularly killings, reported during this period are related to acts of politically motivated violence.

In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks

Latin America is, by far, the most dangerous region of the world for environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The lack of effective guarantees of human rights protection in Latin American States has created this dire situation.

Press freedom in the Philippines continued to be under attack from 2014 to 2015. The killing of journalists is continuing, with four journalists killed from May 2014 to May 2015. The trial of the accused masterminds of the Ampatuan (Maguindanao) Massacre and their supposed henchmen is continuing, but with a primary accused was released, while a witness in the same case was killed.

This 96-page report profiles eight “strongmen” linked to police, intelligence, and militia forces responsible for serious abuses in recent years. The report documents emblematic incidents that reflect longstanding patterns of violence for which victims obtained no official redress.

Journalism in South Asia is far from an easy profession, as the 12th annual review of journalism in the region "The Campaign for Justice: Press Freedom in South Asia 2013-14" portrays. But this year's report also tells the story of the courage of South Asia's journalists to defend press freedom and to ensure citizens' right to information and freedom of expression in the face of increasing challenges to the profession and personal safety.

RWB report is being published ahead of the presidential election scheduled for 5 April. It is the fruit of a fact-finding visit to the northern provinces of Parwan, Kapisa and Panjshir in September 2013

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